Royal Society of NSW News & Events

A high proportion of COVID-19 patients experience a total or partial loss of smell. This, in turn, has led to a call for anosmia (smell loss) to be treated as a symptom of the disease. Of importance in managing the coronavirus pandemic is the possibility that smell loss can begin as the only symptom in a person who is otherwise well, but who may be...

On 27 February 2020 the Royal Society of NSW and the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts presented a celebration of the 300th anniversary of Bach’s solo violin pieces with a lecture by Dr David Hush FRSN on Bach’s enduring popularity and influence. The evening featured performances by award winning violinist Anna Da Silva Chen of Bach’s Sonata for Sol...

In the spirit of advancing knowledge, the Royal Society of NSW is making available the videos from the 7th November 2019 Forum “Making SPACE for Australia”, held in conjunction with the four Learned Academies. The videos and related slide presentations for each individual speaker have been uploaded to the Society’s YouTube channel, launched on 19 M...

POSTPONED: Please contact SMSA on 02 9262 7300 regarding bookings On the Shoulders of Giants: Creation of Learned Societies in NSW  Henry Carmichael — Educational Progressive, Social Reformer, Secularist, Winegrower Dr Lesley Scanlon Vice-President, Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Date: Postponed Venue: Tom Keneally Centre, Sydney Mechanics’ ...

“The Murray-Darling Basin Scheme: a challenge in complexity in balancing social, economic and environmental perspectives” Professor John WIlliams FTSE Adjunct Professor Australian National University and Charles Sturt University  Date: Thursday, 19 March 2020  Venue: Via email circulation  Summary The Murray–Darling Basin is the...

The Royal Society of NSW wishes to assure all Members and Fellows of the Royal Society of NSW that the Society’s Council takes very seriously its responsibility to safeguard the health of its constituency throughout the pandemic, and not only to conform to Government expectations but also to encourage others to do so as well. Therefore, no face-to-...

Challenges for the Future: Energy Storage and Waste Plastic — Two Australian Solutions Going Global’ Professor Thomas Maschmeyer FAA FTSE FMAE FRSN School of Chemistry, University of Sydney A joint meeting of the Australian Institute of Energy, the Australian Nuclear Association, the Sydney Division of Engineers Australia, and the Royal Society of ...

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted that one of its Fellows and leading childhood cancer researcher, Professor Maria Kavallaris AM FRSN, has been named NSW Woman of the Year for 2020 by the NSW Premier, Ms Gladys Berejiklian. Maria’s pathway to cancer research, and the development of less toxic treatments for childhood cancers, had a very persona...

“ Exploring major discoveries and theories in physics, mathematics, biology and chemistry ” Professor Ben Eggleton, University of Sydney Professor Mary Myerscough, University of Sydney Julianna Kadar, Macquarie University Professor Richard Payne, University of Sydney A joint meeting the Australian Institute of Physics, the AIP, RACI, RSNSW Royal Au...

Soils: the least understood part of science, yet vital for all of us Professor Robin J Batterham AO Kernot Professor of Engineering University of Melbourne Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2020, 6.00pm for 6.30pm Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW (Entrance: Shakespeare Place, Sydney) Entry: $25 for Non-Members, $15 for Fellows, Members and Ass...

The Society is pleased to announce that the March 2020 edition of the Bulletin (Issue 440) and the December 2019 edition of the RSNSW Journal and Proceedings (Vol. 152-2) are now available on the website and are available for downloading. A table of contents of this issue of the Journal is also available, enabling access to individual articles. The...

The list of Fellows and Distinguished Fellows, elected by the Royal Society of NSW during 2019, was gazetted by the New South Wales Government on 26 February 2020.  

Speaking of Music…   The Magic of the Solo Violin Presented by the Royal Society of NSW and the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts J S Bach’s solo violin works are regarded as one of the most sublime levels of musical thought in the entire Western canon. 2020 marks the 300th anniversary of these influential works. Interspersed with live performa...

The 2018 Liversidge Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW was delivered at UNSW Sydney on the evening of 20 February 20120 by Scientia Professor Martina Stenzel FAA of the UNSW School of Chemistry. A report on the lecture delivered by Professor Stezel is now available. 

Royal Society of NSW Liversidge Lecture “The journey from simple polymers to nano-footballs: opportunities for better cancer treatment ” Scientia Professor Martina Stenzel FAA School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Date: Thursday, 20 February 2020, 5.30pm for 6.00pm Venue: The Galleries, John Niland Scientia Building, UNSW Sydney Entry: No charge. The le...

“Controlling the Australian Melanoma Epidemic” Professor John Thompson AOMelanoma Institute and University of Sydney Date: Thursday, 20 February 2020  Venue: Face-to-face in Mittagong, NSW. Summary Melanoma is a serious, often fatal form of skin cancer. Australia and New Zealand have the highest incidence rates of melanoma in th...

The Hunter Branch has just announced its second event for the year, a lecture by Professor Tony Capon of Monash University titled “Planetary Health: Safeguarding Health in the Anthropocence Epoch”, to be held at Newcastle City Hall on 25 March.  Also, a report on the Branch’s first meeting of the year (31 January) that included a presentation&...

Presentations by the 2019 Royal Society of NSW Scholarship Recipients Emma Austin, University of Newcastle Shyam Balaji, University of Sydney Michael Papanicolao, University of Technology Sydney and the Garvan Institute Thomas Pettit, University of Technology Sydney Please note that the OGM will be held on the second Wednesday of February, rather t...

The Royal Society of NSW records with great regret the passing of one of its valued Fellows, Dr Brian Spies FRSN FTSE.Dr Spies worked in research and management in the resource and environmental sectors in Australia and the USA, with positions in industry, academia and government.  His roles in Australia included Chief Research Scientist at CS...

Mathematics in Industry: Optimisation in Action — Unlocking Value in the Mining, Energy, and Agriculture Industries Professor Ryan Loxton Curtin University of Technology A joint public lecture held as part of the Mathematics in Industry Study Group and supported by the Hunter Branch of the Royal Society of NSW, the University of Newcastle,the Austr...